The award-winning bar group, Arc Inspirations, has today [September 16] announced an impressive set of results, with turnover up 16.2% to £47.4m in the year to March 2024, amid what the company described as a “transformational year”.
Underlying profits (adjusted EBITDA) for the group were up 37.1% to £5.3m. Individual site performance illustrated the strength of Arc’s market-leading bar brands, plus the success of recent openings, with average site EBITDA up 22% to more than £550,000 per site. It also reported conversion to profit (EBITDA) of 22.9%, up from 21.4%.
The strong performance from Arc, which is led by co-founder and CEO Martin Wolstencroft, follows its recent fund raise of £7m, supported by BGF and HSBC, and means the company is extremely well placed to push ahead with exciting plans to further grow its presence in key UK cities.
The company’s year-end results were boosted further with the launch of four new sites – BOX Brindleyplace, in Birmingham; Manahatta Newcastle; BOX Nottingham, and Manahatta Sheffield. The sites were selected due to their prime city centre locations – a key pillar in the company’s growth strategy – and have been trading well since opening their doors.
The performance was bolstered by Arc’s best Christmas sales period yet. Over half of the Group’s 21 sites reported their best-ever sales weeks during the week commencing 11th December (2023). Like-for-like sales for the four weeks to the end of December 2023 were up 19% compared to December 2022. The individual brands outperformed the previous year, with BOX up 30%, Manahatta up 24% and Banyan ahead 10%. This, the Group said, was further testament to the “passion, commitment and flair” shown by Arc’s operational teams.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Martin Wolstencroft, CEO at Arc Inspirations, said:
“We are extremely proud of what the Group has achieved over the past 12 months in what has been a transformational year. As a business, we continue to track ahead of the market, which is extremely positive.
“Recent years have not been without challenges for the industry, yet these results indicate that we have weathered the storm, and confidence in our brands remains high, across partners, stakeholders, teams and customers.
“These results are a huge credit to everyone that plays a role in driving Arc Inspirations forward and we’re excited for what the coming year will bring as we implement our growth plans further. We have already made great headway with this, with the opening of four strong sites this year, all of which are proving to be incredible additions to both these cities and our business.”
Central to this strategy is identifying and securing prime city centre locations where Arc can operate its three differentiated brands – BOX, Manahatta and Banyan – in close proximity. The three brands are designed to co-exist, offering something different within each so that they can operate alongside each other within major city centres, without impacting or ‘cannibalising’ trade.
In the current financial year – to March 2025 – the Group plans to open two new Manahatta sites, in Nottingham and Edinburgh, and a BOX in Sheffield in 2024. Following this, the business will also launch a Manahatta in Liverpool, in early 2025 and is actively pursuing further site opportunities in London, Cardiff and Scotland.
Wolstencroft added:
“As a business, we care about our teams and customers, and how we can keep delivering an elevated experience in all areas. This is what keeps driving us on and as a result, we are seeing some fantastic performances. All of our sites are trading ahead of the market, and we are confident this trend will continue as we open new sites in more key locations.
“Our performance is a great testament to the work our teams have put in striving to deliver a best-in-class customer experience, resulting in our highest ever NPS of 81, and also retaining and motivating our best people, with team turnover the lowest it has ever been. It really has been a very rewarding year on all fronts, which I am delighted with.”
